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Monday, October 17, 2011

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

Thank you to everyone who has made this blog posting a success! I don't believe in accidents, and for some reason, in God's sovereignty, He allows thousands of people to view this blog posting every day. I didn't think it would be right to not share with you the best news you will ever hear in your life. Then, of course, come back and make yourself some breakfast :) Xoxoxo, Rachael.Before we start, I'd like to refer you to my Q&A page. The crock pot I used for this recipe was a Hamilton Beach 4 qt. slow cooker. If you have any questions about this recipe, you'll probably find the answer here. If not, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll get back with you asap!

If you're anything like me, you're super-motivated to make breakfast the next morning when it's 7 pm the night before. I google, pinterest, and brainstorm ideas that will please the man of the house. But when it comes down to it, I never get to bed on time, and 6 am comes really quick. I know many people who view the crock pot as a cop-out, but I disagree. I think it's smart. If I could make filet mignon in a crock pot, I would. But since I can't, I'm going to make my breakfast in this thing. Plus, what's even more beautiful about this is that most members of your family can serve themselves at any time of the morning, so you don't have to worry about getting up incredibly early to spoon it all out.

Let's do this! I'm going to walk us through step-by-step to show you just how easy this really is.

Ingredients:

1 bag 26 oz. frozen hash browns

Since Tim doesn't eat white potatoes, I peeled and shredded about 8 red potatoes, but I'll be the first to tell you it's not as tasty.

12 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon ground mustard

1 16 oz. roll sausage

I've used the maple sausage, and I really liked. This time I just used regular.

Salt and pepper

16 oz. bag shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Spray crock pot and evenly spread hash browns at the bottom.

Crack 12 eggs in a large bowl.

Mix well (and slowly) using a whisk.

Add the milk.

Go ahead and sprinkle in the ground mustard. This might sound like a weird ingredient, but I've come to love (and use) this in most of my recipes.

Add plenty of salt....

...and lots of fresh pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Cook the sausage on high heat, drain and set aside.

Add sausage on top of hash browns.

Is this enough cheese? Maybe? Probably. Throw the whole big bag in there.

Mix it up well. Or good, depending on where you're from.

Pour the egg mixture over everything in the crock pot. Using a wood spoon, even everything out so it's spread evenly.

Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. If you sleep more than that and lack the discipline to get up just to turn off the crock pot (like myself), feel free to make this the day before and keep it on warm all night. That works really well in our house. Now go wash your face, watch some E!, and get in bed. Go ahead and close your eyes, and fall asleep. Because when you wake up and walk into the kitchen, you'll see this...

Oh, my.

What do we have here?

A perfect recipe that reminds you that the day is worth living, that's what.

Some fun variations of this recipe. Before cooking (during prep) you can add:

Since you have someone that doesn't eat 'normal' potatoes you can sub sweet potato fries. Very yummy! I make many variations of this with whatever we have laying around, I've even been know to use left over french fries in a pinch! They always turn out great, we like ours in tortillas.

The only thing you listed in egg beaters that would be of any concern is maltodextrin, which is less than 1%. You do realize that is just a big list of vitamins, right? Regular eggs in this would be good, but egg beaters would also be fine for those who may be watching fat or cholesterol intake.

I don't have a large crockpot, like the one pictured. It's not tiny, but it's round rather than the big oval. Should I halve the recipe? Or make it as directed? I want to make this for a faculty potluck breakfast. It looks easy and delicious!

Hey, there! Thanks for stopping by :) Most sausage rolls come as 16 oz, so I would suggest that size. I also used a 16 oz. bag of cheese. Thank you for bringing that to my attention-I fixed it to be more specific.

Hey, there! Thanks for writing :) There are only two of us; however, we always make a full crockpot. It can be refrigerated and eaten the following morning. If you really want to use a smaller crockpot, cut the recipe and cooking time in half. This can be difficult if you plan on leaving it overnight. My suggestion is, like I said, to make the normal size and plan on snacking on it. We've had it up to 3 days after cooking it (don't judge, please), and it's still great.

I have done the same. I ate it about 4 days later to finish it off and it was STILL good. I actually even noticed that I liked it better the 2nd and 3rd days! My only suggestion is maybe not all the cheese. Im not a big salt person and it was a bit salty for me.

I cooked this lastnight, however at 3am I was smelling it "burn" I think it needs more milk or, wake up and add liquids b/c the eggs and hash browns soak the 1 cup up. Its rather good (the middle that didn't burn) and I sprayed the crockpot heavily with pam, so I agree on the liner also! I like to try recipes prior to having overnight quests! Thanks again!!!

I made this over the weekend and it turned out great!! Very delicious and extremely easy to put together. Loved having breakfast waiting for me instead of me waiting for it to cook. Great way to start the weekend. Thanks for the recipe!!

I'm so sorry to hear that it didn't turn out for you :( Unfortunately, just like ovens, every crock pot is different. I have two crockpots, and one of them gets crazy hot. If you decide to try it again, I'd minimize the time.

I made this recipe in this very same crockpot and it took only 5 hours. Edges were gently crispy but not burned. It was very very good! Take a trial run with your crockpot before you make it for Christmas breakfast or other event. I made it for a potluck and it was a huge hit. I also put some chopped fresh spinach in it. Everyone asked for the recipe. Thank you so much!!

What about doubling the recipe??? How would that affect the cook time, and would there be room? This would be perfect for our turn for breakfast for our Sunday school class...at 9:30....AM.....that I tend to always run late to anyway....so, yea...this would be perfect, but need to feed 15 or so....

For those of you who think it makes too much, go ahead and make it as stated. Use the leftovers to fill tortillas, wrap tightly, and freeze individually. Then you will have ready made breakfast burritos. Just pop in the microwave for a couple of minutes and you are ready to go!

This was awesome. I made this last night and it is a hit this morning. I used a spicy ground sausage, bacon, onions, bell peppers and diced green chilies, along with the cheese. Instead of 12 eggs and 1 cup of milk, I used 18 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk along with some cayenne pepper in the mixture with ground mustard, pepper and salt. Served with homemade salsa and tortillas. I also used my crockpot liners. It did not burn as I turned the crockpot to warm when I woke up and saw it was cooked thru. Thank you for the recipe.

Making this right now for tomorrows breakfast!!! Cannot wait to see how it comes out. Join me on http://justamomandwife.blogspot.com is it okay if I post on my blog about this? I will link it back to you!!

Hi, Michelle! I think that's a great idea; however, I would peel the potatoes first. Whenever I leave red potatoes in the crock pot for an extended period of time, they're extremely soft and tasty, so I wouldn't think you would need to cook them ahead of time. I would just make sure they're on the smaller side :) Let me know how it goes!

To avoid cooking the sausage, I use Jimmy Dean hearty sausage scrambles. It is fully cooked already. We prefer the turkey sausage as it has 60% less fat than pork sausage and tastes just as good. I also use Egg Beaters instead of egg and reduced fat shredded cheddar. We fix this regularly. My kids get up at different times to catch their school buses, so this is a good solution to a hot breakfast for all 3 that only has to be fixed once (and the night before to boot). I put the leftovers in tortillas in the freezer and they can pop one of those in the microwave for 2 minutes on other days. Everyone in the house loves this breakfast.

I made this last night and would not make it this way again :( Next time I will use the O'Brian potatoes (with peppers and onions)and hot sausage (Bob Evans)and I won't put the cheese in until morning. This is a dish you have to start very late at night (at least 11:00p), or it will cook too long. I also think if you threw a country gravy on top when you served it would be yummy too! I love the concept of this, it was very easy.

ty ty TY for explaining this with step by step instructions, humor and PICTURES!!! im a "never ever cooked before in my life" new cook and your recipes are the kind i need! im only a little disappointed that you didn't put a side note in there about how to cook the sausage! (yes, im THAT new! lol) as soon as i spring out on my own and get my crock pot, im definitely making this!

Hi, Kerry! Thanks for the kind words-we eat this for dinner all the time. And I love your blog, too!

Anonymous, I think Kerry was simply saying that it's nice to meet someone who shares the same belief system :) We all enjoy meeting others who share similar interests and ideals. I hope you're enjoying the recipes, and please let me know if you have any questions about any of them!!

So I'm making this now & is having a little problem with the burning of my hashbrowns on the sides. This could possibly be because I forgot to spray the pan first!! But so far , it's turning out really good & I believe I have one of those really hot even though it's on low crockpots , so I had to adjust it to warm! Great recipe idea! I'm looking forward to trying it!

To avoid cooking the sausage, I use Jimmy Dean hearty sausage scrambles. It is fully cooked already. We prefer the turkey sausage as it has 60% less fat than pork sausage and tastes just as good. I also use Egg Beaters instead of egg and reduced fat shredded cheddar. I put it in a crock pot bag for easy clean up. We fix this regularly. My kids get up at different times to catch their school buses, so this is a good solution to a hot breakfast for all 3 that only has to be fixed once (and the night before to boot). I put the leftovers in tortillas in the freezer and they can pop one of those in the microwave for 2 minutes on other days. Everyone in the house loves this breakfast.

I am mostly vegetarian, so I made this following the instructions but used a vegetarian sausage crumble instead of meat. (This is the particular brand that I used, found in the vegetarian section of my local grocery store: http://www.lightlife.com/Vegan-Food-Vegetarian-Diet/Gimme-Lean-Sausage) This also eliminated having to cook the sausage. I made it and brought it in for my coworkers and no one knew that it wasn't real sausage. I was super impressed with this recipe! :-)

Ok, tried this last night and I had a hard time just letting it cook...I kept worrying I was going to catch the house on fire! I didn't have crockpot liners so I used foil. Even though I did this, I think I should have still sprayed the foil. I woke up at 1:30 am (after 4 hrs of it cooking) and the sides were a DARK brown and it was bubbling!! I obviously have a crockpot that is an over-achiever on the Low setting. I turned it off! This morning I'm reheating but did try a bite. I think next time I'll let the hashbrowns thaw a bit and season them with salt and pepper before adding them. Also, I'll probably add more eggs and milk so hopefully the outer edges won't get so crispy. The one thing I'll definitely do: I won't cook it overnight!

Hey, there! Thanks so much for your comment. I definitely wouldn't use tin foil-it's reactive, and it tends to cause the items to cook MUCH faster, and to brown them. That's why, for lasagnas and some other casseroles, you cover it with tin foil-because you want it to slightly brown. All that to say, the only time I would ever use tin foil in the crock pot would be for baked potatoes :) Better luck next time, and thank you for stopping by!

Hey, there! Thanks for dropping by :) I understand your situation-it's just me and my husband in the house, so this is WAY too much for the two of us. If I were you, I'd skip the crock pot all together. Honestly, you can't leave anything with that small of servings in the crock pot without it burning, especially overnight.

What i do is grab some ramekins, mix an egg or two with some cheese, salt, pepper, bacon, sausage, and a small handful of hashbrowns, toss it into one ramekin (each) and bake at 350 until it's cooked thoroughly. It takes about 15-20 minutes, if that, because the containers are so small.

This was definitely a great way to wake up! There are just 2 of us so I halved the recipe (yep, even after reading all the reviews that advised against it), added a diced jalapeno, some arugula and leeks. When I opened the bag of hash browns I found they were diced potatoes, not the shredded kind in the pic, but I don't think it makes a difference, it was delicious with those! And thanks to all who wrote to be cautious if your crock pot runs hot, because I put it on "keep warm" and it was done perfectly in 6 hours. I still have quite a bit left so we will have breakfast burritos or quesadillas.

This recipe is absolute brilliance!! I have almost the same quiche recipe (that I ironically just finished making for breakfast tomorrow morning with the in-laws). Unfortunately I have to refrigerate mine and reheat it in the morning! I wish I had seen this brilliant crock-pot recipe about an hour ago!! I'll definitely need to remember this for next time! Thanks for sharing!

I made this for supper tonight and I'm SO impressed! It's super yummy & the kids are devouring it! Thank you :)

I was thinking too that you could make this into a Mexican meal using the chiles, taco meat, peppers, onions, maybe some beans? Still use potatoes & eggs & cheese, and then serve with sour cream & salsa. Delish! :)

Made this last night, but changed a few things. I only have a small round crockpot, not a large one. I coated with olive oil, filled the bottom up to about 3 or 4 inches of hashbrowns, then used spicy, ground italian sausage, some bacon, and ham, as I didn't have much of each meat. Topped with onions, and lots of cheese, and then used 8 eggs whisked up like you did, put milk,ground mustard, garlic pepper and dried red chilies. After mixing up the rest, I poured the egg mixture. I then cracked 2 more eggs in a bowl but did not put milk in it. I whisked these eggs and poured it on top. I know my crockpot cooks a little faster, that is why I did this, because then these last 2 eggs sit more or less on top of the mixture, and there is more moisture at the top, without it being a runnier/with milk mixture. Started it at 11:30pm on low, and it was ready at 4:30am. The only complaint I have, shouldn't even be a complaint, but at about 1:30am it started smelling way too good, and about every hour I was waking up hungry, and my tummy grumbling haha. But nonetheless, delicious. I turned it off at 4:30, but we didn't eat it until 6. 5:45 I turned it on high again to reheat quickly and it worked out well.

Sour cream would be a GREAT addition-thanks for the thought! It's not that white potatoes are less tasty...he underwent a lifestyle change about 2 years ago and lost over 100 lbs, and his eating program called for only red potatoes, so we stick with them :)

Hi, Kristie! If you are only feeding 3 people, I would advise doing one of two things: 1) you can make the entire amount and eat the leftovers later. This is what I typically do, and it's honestly so good that people normally eat more than their fair share of it, or 2) you can halve the recipe and make it in a smaller crock pot the night before (cooking for only about 3-4 hours), refrigerate it fully cooked and plug back in in the morning to re-heat. If it were me, I'd go with option 1 so I could eat leftovers during the week :)

I'm so sorry you didn't like it! We had it for breakfast and loved it, so maybe it's a preference thing. If you thought there was no flavor, you could possibly add some Italian sausage instead of normal sausage, and you can also add things like chilies, peppers, and different seasonings give it a little bit more flavor if that's what you're looking for. I hope you're having a Merry Christmas, and thank you for dropping by!

I can't imagine this would have no flavor. Everything in it has flavor of its own, and when you mix them...WOW!! My guess is you didn't use enough salt and pepper. Eggs are pretty blah without salt. I can't wait to try this. My tiny little family just said we miss Nana's breakfast casserole, and this would be a new tradition of our own. Will be trying this in the near future with plans for next Christmas. Thanks Rachael.

Made this for our Christmas breakfast and turned out pretty good for first time. And actually instead of sausage I used diced ham, and we enjoyed it. Even my kids who are in the picky eater stage of life! :) thx!

I made this for Christmas morning. Instead of hashbrowns I used a bag of frozen roasted potatoes from Trader Joes. Also I would only cook this for the minimum time, 6 hrs on low. I did 7 hours and ours was a bit dry but still a big hit in my house.

I made it once, and it was burnt in the morning.... (My Crock pot cooks REALLY hot.) I actually woke up to the burning smell around 1 am and cut it to warm. I threw it out (fed it to my pot bellied pigs) b/c the burnt flavor had gone through all of it. WELL!!! I asked for a new crock pot for Christmas, and I received it.:) This is the first recipe I am trying out in it. I'm hoping I wake up in the morning to a yummy breakfast!! I did a lot of research on crock pots before I decided this was the one to ask for, so hopefully all of the reviews on the crock pot hold up! I love the idea of this recipe because I have a hunter in the house that leaves some mornings at 3am. He can eat a good breakfast, and it will still be warm for the rest of us when we wake up. I will try to remember to let you know how it turns out!

It didn't burn!!!! It was really yummy. The man got to have breakfast at 5am this morning before leaving for hunting, and when the kids and I got out of bed it was warm and ready for us!!! Needless to say I am in LOVE with my new crock pot. After scrolling back through your blog I realized it is the same crock pot that you have, except it is computerized. I was able to set the timer too cook on low for 6 hours, then it automatically set it to warm. It also has a probe function for big pieces of meat. It will cook until the meat is to the temp. you want and then cut it to warm!!

The only thing I may change is to add some peppers and onions, or maybe just mix some salsa in next time. (I love salsa on my eggs.) It isn't needed, but would customize it to my taste! :) Thanks for the recipe!!

Made this last night and it was horrible. Maybe overcooked? Crust on the sides but not burned but everything turned to mush. Really horrible tasting. Disappointed, looks wonderful but maybe not suitable for the crockpot.

Aaaahh, I'm so sorry you didn't like it :( I will say, eggs in the crock pot aren't for everyone. It can be an acquired taste. If it was mushy in the middle, then it seems you may have an overactive crock pot that cooked quickly on the outside and not enough on the inside. Just a thought-thanks so much for stopping by! :)

A bit off subject, but seeing you like mustard powder, did you ever add it to the grounds in your coffee pot?? We saw that many years ago in a country magazine and it takes the bitterness away as we put it into a Thermos air pot sever. Just a few shakes in a pot does it.

Porky, I'm sure that's an amazing idea, but *gasp* we don't drink coffee! I know, we're weird. Thanks for the idea, though-my mom is a HUGE coffee drinker, so I'll have to share this with her. Thanks for dropping by :)

I made this last night for my hubby to bring to work &share. Well it was a hit! Although next time I'm going to add a bit more meat. Maybe some chunks of ham and/or bacon. Also I used Colby Jack cheese. This recipe is a great one and pretty versatile that you can add/change what you like. Thanks for pinning this!

So I'am going to make this for the first time, but I was reading that someone else had used cream of mushroom soup before adding the eggs to make it creamy. Do you think if I turned the cooked sausage into sausage gravy and then poured that over the hashbrowns it would come out to mushy? Well might not get a reply by tonight since its only 9:30 my time, but figured I try. I will try it and see what happens. Love this idea for a crockpot reciepe thou :)

Tried this out the other night and it was pretty tasty. I've had my crock pot for about two years and have finally found a good use for it. I think I'm going to switch it up and add salsa next time though. Just curious, has anyone tried putting chorizo in instead of the maple sausage, and then adding salsa? And if so, was it good? (:

thanks for posting ... I made this for a staff breakfast at school last week with a few modifications and it was well enjoyed. I can't do cow's milk, so I used almond (sweetened vanilla) and left out the cheese. I also used two 12 oz sausage rolls (not spicy) and a little more than the dry mustard called for. It was yummy!

I have a new variation for you, I browned the hash browns in the pan after cooking mild italian sausage, then added finely chopped or smashed garlic to the egg mixture and left out the mustard. I always use colby cheese too. OMG, it was amazing!

Made this last night for this mornings breakfast. Followed the directions exactly. We didn't care for it, I won't make it again. Rather flavorless, which surprised me. It tasted watery, I'm guessing from the hash browns. I was hoping that I'd found something new when company stays over, I'm glad I did a test run.

Hi, Rachael. I have a new college student and I'm on search for easy crock pot recipes for her to use and this one would be fabulous. The only thing is, she's not comfortable (yet) with browning meat on the stove. I'm novice enough that I can't think of a good alternative to the browning the sausage... We do breakfast bowls at home but we use the sausage links that you can cook in the microwave but that defeats the purpose of throwing it in the crock pot and letting to cook. Do you have any suggestions?

Hi, Melanie! I think your college student will love this recipe. If she's not comfortable on the stove (yet), there are several microwaveable options for meat. She could buy pre-cooked bacon (which I eat on a regular basis)and/or pre-cooked sausage links. After microwaving them to warm them up, she could crumble the bacon and/or cut up the sausage links and add to the casserole. That would be my suggestion! :)

I prepared this dish last night in a 6½ quart crock pot. I increased the eggs by three and everything else just a bit as well. I did add two roughly chopped red bell peppers. I started it on low at 11:00pm last night and my cat got me up at 6:00am to turn it down to warm =) Perfect. It sat on warm for two hours (we slept in this morning) before we ate. First I'd like to say that what some comment to be burning is, I'd wager, actually blackened cheese. There are those who like this flavor very much, I am one, and I also like my marshmallows torched =) For my mother-in-law and I the "burnt" part is our favorite. Aside from that it was scrumptious. I think I might add more cheese next time though. This dish is filling I will say. I will be wanting to find alternatives to the potato as I am of the primal persuasion (God led me to primal eating to save my life - a whole 'nother story) so, with the exception of the copious amounts of potatoes and cheese this meal is on my "good for me" list. I may try it with shredded parsnips and turnips instead of white potato and see how it works. Great job, Rachael. I'll be checking out your other recipes!

Hi all, Made this last night for my hunters. I seasoned the hash browns with salt, pepper, and garlic powder before adding the sausage. I aso used one can cream of mushroom soup and about half cup of sour cream to egg mixture. Cooked on medium for 4 hours then left crock pot on warm. Turned out great. Cooked evenly with no mushy center. Has great flavor

Just turned the switch on my Ninga! I used french fries, bacon, and bologna, eggs and cheese...weird I know but I have a 4, 5 and 7 year old and those ingredients are what they like. Hopefully come early morning they will enjoy this dish. I'm pretty sure I'll just enjoy getting out of bed early and breakfast being ready:) This is my first time making this so I can't wait till morning!

We have a busy week ahead so I was looking for some good crock pot recipes. My daughter had this pinned so we're going to give it a try. I like the suggestion someone offered about turning the leftovers into breakfast burritos.

My name is Rachael, and I'm a pastor's wife, mom, home cook extraordinaire and transplanted California girl who is now blooming in South Carolina. The idea of domestication thrills me, but not as much as a bubble bath and Mexican food. I am a proud aunt to two princesses and Spider Man. Tim and I welcomed our first child, Judah, on November 11th. Welcome to my home away from home, All Kinds of Yumm! {Read more about Rachael...}